Hannibal King
| image = | reality = | aliases = Henry Kagle | type = | alignment = | status = | race = | gender = | nationality = | occupation = | affiliation = BorderLine Investigative Services The Nightstalkers The Mystic Nine | dob = | pob = Milwaukee, Wisconsin | dod = 2007 (publishing year) | pod = England | boo = London, England; Later, Boston, Massachusetts | height = 5'11" OHOTMU: Horror 2005 | weight = 190 lbs. OHOTMU: Horror 2005 | eyes = Brown | hair = Brown | relatives = | first = ''Tomb of Dracula'', Volume 1 #25 | final = ''Blade'', Volume 6 #12 | creators = Marv Wolfman; Gene Colan | actor = }} Hannibal King is a fictional vampire and a supporting character in two important Marvel Comics titles, Tomb of Dracula and Nightstalkers. Created by writer Marv Wolfman and artist Gene Colan, Hannibal King was first presented as a New York private investigator in the pages of ''Tomb of Dracula'' #25. Although he was later revealed to be a vampire, Hannibal King was set apart from other vampires in that he maintained a close hold to his humanity and was committed towards never taking a human life. Biography Hannibal King was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As an adult, he earned a living as a private investigator. Many years ago, a vampire by the name of Deacon Frost attacked Hannibal and drank his blood, leaving him for dead. Hannibal awakened in a morgue three days later and discovered that he too was now one of the living dead. Hannibal refused to drink human blood however, and satisfied his unnatural craving by dining on the blood of animals or from plasma bags stolen from blood banks. King continued to work as a private detective and opened up an office in London, England. Committed toward never succumbing to the evil nature of being a vampire, he focused his energy and abilities on cases involving the supernatural. One such case involved a woman named Adrianne Brown Walters. Walters hired King to investigate the murder of her husband, Fred Walters. King's investigation led him to Walters' employers, Wyandanch Limited, many of whom were servants of the vampire lord known as Dracula. Dracula had been controlling Wyandanch's shipping interests so that he could export his coffins to different locales undetected. The two fought one another, but Hannibal was fortunate to survive their first encounter. (TOD: 25) Sometime later, Hannibal King encountered the vampire hunter known as Blade during an adventure that involved Dracula's attempt to overcome the Sorcerer Supreme, Doctor Strange. Blade was immune to the powers of a vampire and hated all things supernatural. However, he recognized that King was a good man and that he had never taken a human life. They both shared a common villain - Deacon Frost. An uneasy truce was formed between the two and they began to value one another as allies in their struggle against the forces of the undead. (TOD: 44) Abilities Powers Vampire powers Skills Weaknesses Equipment Weaponry * Incendiary handgun: Hannibal King originally just carried a small caliber handgun. In later years however, as he began encountering more and more vampires, he began loading his gun with incendiary bullets. Notes & Trivia * A version of Hannibal King also appeared in the 2004 film Blade: Trinity. Played by actor Ryan Reynolds, this version of King bore the same basic origin as his comic book counterpart, but had a radically different personality. The movie version of King was a former vampire prone to intense acts of violence and profane wisecracking. * has a head-shot spot illustration under the Vampires entry in The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, Deluxe Edition: Book of the Dead #20. Appearances Hannibal King was introduced in issue #25 of the original Tomb of Dracula series. He didn't appear again until issue #44, but became a regular supporting cast member in the series from that point onward, making ten more appearances in the title up until issue #53. During the mid-1980s, he made several appearances in Doctor Strange, Volume 2 in a storyline that ultimately did away with all vampires in the Marvel Universe thanks to the Montesi Formula. He appeared in #58-62 and #67. In 1992, Hannibal, along with former Tomb of Dracula co-stars Blade and Frank Drake reunited to form the Nightstalkers - a team of supernatural investigators that was published under Marvel's "Midnight Sons" imprint. The book lasted only 18 issues, but the character's storylines crossed over into other Midnight Sons titles such as Ghost Rider, Volume 3, Morbius, the Living Vampires, Darkhold: Pages from the Book of Sins and Ghost Rider & Blaze: Spirits of Vengeance. The character lapsed into obscurity following his apparent demise in Nightstalkers #18, but returned in 2006 in the pages of Blade, Volume 6. Hannibal King appeared in issues #8-12 of the series where he was again seemingly killed off. Marvel Chronology Project See also External links * Hannibal King at MDP * Hannibal King at Wikipedia * Hannibal King at Comicbookdb.com * Hannibal King at the Marvel Directory References ---- Category:1974 character introductions Category:2007 publishing deaths Category:BorderLine Investigative Services members Category:Mystic Nine members Category:Nightstalkers members